A Different Way to Play
by feathermist153
Summary: When a girl from District 2 is reaped along with her best friend, Cato, how will the pressure of being in the Games affect their attitudes for each other?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So this is my very first fanfic! Im so excited to be writing this and I really hope you enjoy it! I will try to update it every two or three days, but I do have exams these next two weeks so I make no promises!**

**Please leave a review if you like it, if you hate it, if I make a spelling error, or just to say hi! I just love hearing from you guys!**

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the Hunger Games belong to Suzanne Collins. But Vita is all mine :D**_

Chapter 1: Career Training

The horns trumpeting out Panem's national anthem woke Vita from her fitful sleep. Bleary-eyed she slowly rose from her soft, warm bed. As she looked around her room, she noted the daylight streaming in her open window. She looked at her clock sitting on the decorative nightstand by her bed and say that it was almost seven o'clock in the morning.

Vita rubbed her hands into her sleepy eyes and yawned silently. She pulled her cotton robe on and pushed her feet into her velvety soft, plush slippers and quietly padded out of the room.

'Mmmmm what is that?' Vita thought to herself. The smell of breakfast wafting throughout the house led her feet towards the dining room. She blundered along, still half asleep as she made her way down the hall.

When Vita stepped into the dining room, her mother tittered scornfully at her appearance.

"Vita Autem Bellona!" She snapped at her daughter. "You had better get yourself presentable. I have a good feeling about this year." She smiled almost wistfully at her daughter. "Now go get changed. If anything good comes from today, I won't have you looking like a ragged coal miner on national television."

Vita sighed inwardly, but flashed a strained smile at her mother. "Yes ma'am." She replied softly. "When are we to be in the square?" Vita inquired. "I want to get some training in before we go, just in case." Vita loved training more than anything else. She couldn't get enough of the feeling of power that surged through her as she whipped the swords around and slashed the knives through the air. It was the greatest way to get a huge adrenaline rush.

"We need to be there at one. I daresay you should do training first. You never know what will happen today. I''ll call for you when breakfast is ready."

Vita smiled again, although this time there was nothing forced about it. She walked quickly down the hall and once she was outside, she ran into the gardens that stretched far behind the house. She slowed her pace when she got to the gardens. Just being in here surrounded by the beautiful plants and gardens calmed her. The heady scent of the flowers washed over her and she breathed it in. Besides the training facility, this was Vita's favorite place to spend time. She never tired of wandering around through the tall hedges and underneath the lush trees. It had something to do with the feeling of being transported into another world.

Sighing contentedly, she strode across the bridge that stretched over a gushing river and into the large building just beyond the garden gates.

Once inside, Vita quickly changed into her custom made jumpsuit composed of synthetic materials only available from the Capitol itself. Being the daughter of the most respected man in all of the districts sure did have its benefits. She relished the feel of the material stretched taught across her wiry and muscled frame. She slipped her small feet into her training boots that custom molded to her feet each day as she put them on. 'Nothing but the best,' she thought with a devilish grin.

She pushed through the door that separated the front room from the training area and breathed in the scent of metal, sweat and plastic. Strangely, this scent always seemed to bring her comfort. Every time that Vita was angry at something or another, and she was very often mad due to her short temper, she would come in here and train and train until she was forced to call one of their servants to help her back to the house. As she stretched her lean muscles, she pondered what she wanted to train with today.

Vita crossed the room in a few strides and typed a command into the computer that stretched across the wall, longer than she was tall. A hole opened up in the floor, allowing a rack of weapons to ascend from the ground. She grinned as she selected a belt of viciously sharp knives and gladii* to start.

She sighed aloud, wishing her best friend was here to train with her, but Cato would be too busy readying himself for today. Vita shrugged off her momentary sadness and selected a wickedly curved one from the belt.

She stepped back and took aim at one of the dummies that were strategically placed around the room. She let the knife fly from her hand and watched in almost slow motion as it was embedded in the stomach of the dummy. Moving quickly, she rolled across the floor and launched another knife, this time one with a straight blade, and caused a deep gash in the leg. Vita wore a self satisfied smirk when she took in the amount of red stain on the dummies from her two knives alone. These training dummies were set up like a normal human bodies, with blood pods placed throughout the body, and depending on where the pod was decided how much imitation blood was released as it was ruptured. Vita noted that her knife that had gashed the leg had apparently hit a major artery because the blood was covering most of the lower leg. She smiled to herself and remembered to make a mental note of that. The knife embedded to its hilt in the stomach of the dummy had a 6 inch radius of blood spreading outward from the knife. She carefully pulled the knife out of the life-like flesh of the dummy and wiped on the stain resistant material of her jumpsuit.

Vita went back to the computer and typed in a few more commands. 'What good is training if you're opponent doesn't fight back?' As the regular dummies were lowered into the floor, a new specialized kind of dummy descended from a rack high up towards the ceiling. Just as Vita took up a fighting stance, the first dummy launched a knife at her. She lunged forward to avoid the knife and threw one of her own at it. The dummy next to it then moved forward as if to cut her shoulder. Vita easily parried the blow and gashed its forearm. She continued with this fighting pattern until all of the 5 dummies had been successfully defeated.

Vita collapsed heavily onto the floor, panting. In her opinion, there was nothing better than learning to defend herself. She took a long drink of water and then put the knives back on the rack. As she punched in another command into the computer, the weapons rack lowered back into the floor, and obstacle course began to take form at one end of the training room.

She strode across the room and started the timer floating above her head. A booming voice rang out across the area, counting down the time until she should start the course.

As the buzzing rang out across the room, it was replaced by another booming voice.

"Vita!" her mom called, "It's time for breakfast!"

Vita groaned, wanting to do a bit more training and she hated being interrupted. But, she didn't want to make her mother angry so she slipped off her training jumpsuit, redressed in normal clothes and trudged back to the house, disappointed.

As the Vita wiped her mouth on her napkin, her family's Avox servant cleared her dishes away. She smiled contentedly at her mother and excused herself to get ready for the day ahead.

Leafing through her closet, Vita tried to decide on a dress to wear. She had to look perfect today, absolutely perfect. She didn't want to stand out too much, but she wanted to look pretty and fierce. She decided on a golden sleeveless dress, with a thick tan leather belt. The dress was fitted at the top with a flowy skirt. The dress fell to the tops of her knees and looked perfect with her dark hair. Vita slipped into a pair of soft tan sandals that matched the belt and complemented the dress.

Vita debated whether or not to ask the Avox to do her hair and make-up, but decided against it. She had time. It was only eleven o'clock and she wanted to do things her way.

Vita sat down at the vanity in her room and turned the lights on. She was instantly bathed in a soft yellow glow. Pressing one of the buttons at the front of the vanity, hair products materialized in front of her.

She picked of the ornate silver brush and pulled it through her tangled black hair. Wincing, she tugged and brushed until her long hair shimmered and fell in a neat sheet to the middle of her back. She knows that she could just as easily have a current run down from the ceiling and separate every single knot in her hair, but there was something about the way the bristles from the brush made her feel that she wanted to brush out her hair by herself.

Shaking her shimmering sheet of hair back, Vita picked up a plain black ribbon that blended well with her hair and tied it up high on her head. She secured the ribbon tightly and pulled the brush through her hair one more time before gathering a small amount of sticking gel into her hand. She lathered it onto her hand and then spread it through her hair. Vita wrapped her hair into a messy-yet-pretty bun that rested on the crown of her head. She felt the hair practically glue to her head, just waiting until she rinses the gel out to release.

Finally, she picked up a small white flower pin and placed it directly in the middle of her bun. With that final touch, her outfit was complete.

Vita debated on putting up makeup, but decided not to wear much, just a swipe of dark mascara on each eye.

She looked at the clock smiled. With an hour before the reaping started, her mother would be pleased to see that she had gotten ready so quickly. 'At least there's one thing to make her happy today.' Vita thought almost bitterly to herself. Her mother had never been what one would call compassionate or doting. She had always been very strict with Vita and had begun training her for the Games before Vita turned ten. That was what her mother wanted most of all. To see Vita become a tribute in the Games. She wasn't even sure if her mother cared if she won or not, just as long as she saw Vita fulfill what her mother called her "purpose" in life.

Vita spent so much time training for the Games, she wasn't even really allowed to play with kids her own age. Cato the only person she could really call a friend. He was always there to talk to her and they spent many nights sneaking out and walking around the woods on the edges of the district, making sure to be back before the sun arose. She would never let him know, but Vita had always harbored an attraction to him. For one thing, he was gorgeous, with his short cropped blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. But Vita wasn't sure if he returned her feelings, and was too nervous to say anything.

Vita sighed softly and padded out of her room. After today though, it really wouldn't matter. She was seventeen and only had one more year left to enter the Games. This year, she knew that she would be reaped. Considering all the tesserae her mother had made her put in, it is next to impossible for her not to get reaped. But just in case she wasn't, Vita knew what she had to do. She couldn't bear to see the looks of disappointment and contempt in her mother's eyes every year that she wasn't reaped. She would never see that look again.

As Vita entered the larger foyer at the front of the house, her mother stepped up and offered her a tight lipped smile. "My, don't you look lovely." Vita could hear the effort it took her mother to praise her. After all, so far Vita was just a disappointment.

"Thank you mother," Vita responded, equally cold, "Is father not joining us?" Vita knew that as the mayor, her father needed to preside over the reaping and introduce everything, but usually he at least walked down with them. Completely opposite of her mother, Vita's father was warm and kind to her, even if he was terribly strict with the District. He had always treated Vita like the light of his life, providing Vita with the parental love that she never received from her mother.

"No. He received an urgent message and left for the square over an hour ago." Vita's mother fixed her jewelry and ushered Vita out of the house. "Come along now. We don't have all the time in the world to stand around asking questions." It was this kind of comment that always made Vita upset. Why was her mother eternally upset with her?

In response, all Vita could mutter out was a simple, "Yes mother," and walked out into the hot June air.

*For those who don't know, gladii is plural for gladius which is a roman short sword


	2. Chapter 2

**For all those who are wondering, Vita's name does have a meaning Unless you want to go look it up for yourself, I'm gonna "reveal" what her name means in the last chapter! Thanks for reading!**

Once again, I would love for you guys to leave me reviews! They make me so happy!

_**Disclaimer: Characters of the Hunger Games belong to Suzanne Collins!**_

Chapter 2: The Reaping

The walk to the square left Vita feeling tired and sluggish. Having never been a fan of hot temperatures, she despised summer. Couple that with the reaping and you have Vita's worst kind of day.

Vita stifled a yawn as she walked up to the registration table. She forced her eyes to look wide and alert. The daughter of the mayor can't walk around looking bored at one of the most important events of the year. She quickly rubbed under her eyes, being careful not to smear the mascara on her eyelashes.

Giving her finger and ID over to the Peacekeeper, Vita quickly registered and joined the section of other seventeen year olds. She scanned the crowd of seventeen year old boys and located Cato. She flashed a smile at him and winked, just some friendly long distance flirting, even though inside she was absolutely terrified. That was one of Vita's hidden talents. She could disguise her emotions so easily as to fool anyone.

Vita turned to face the large stage set at the front end of the square as her father took the stage. Her heart warmed at the sight of him and her terror lessened just the smallest amount. She watched as his deep blue eyes, that are identical to hers, scan the crowd and come to rest on her. With the smallest and briefest of smiles sent her way, Mayor Bellona addressed the assembly of people.

"Welcome people of District 2 to the annual Reaping of the Hunger Games," the Mayor recites with a smile.

Vita allows her mind to wander as her father retells the same story as every year, the history of Panem and why the Hunger Games exist, etc., etc. Her eyes drift to the chairs that line the back wall of the stage. There are 15 chairs set up. One of the chairs is empty, that one is where her father will take his place when he finishes his yearly speech.

The next one is filled by the female escort, Vanna. This year her theme for the reaping seems to be a bright green color. Her green wig flows from the top of her head and wraps around her upper-body in a spiral motion. Just looking at it almost makes Vita's eyes water. Her lime green dress clings tightly to her body and looks as though every inch of it is covered in small green diamonds. Her large dark green platform heels make her already tall frame look giant. Finally, her large green sparkly earrings and bright green tights pull the horrendous outfit together.

At least the 13 victors are dressed in normal clothes. Being the Mayor's daughter, she knew all of them by name. Each of them had been over for dinner at some point or another to meet with the Mayor.

The national anthem trumpeting throw the speakers surrounding the square jerked Vita's attention back to the podium on the stage. She watched as Mayor Bellona resumed his seat on the stage as Vanna carefully walked up to the podium.

"Happy Hunger Games," Vanna squeaked out in her affected Capitol accent. "And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor." With her fake smile plastered to her face she walked over to the two rather large glass bowls resting on larger tables in the center of the stage.

"Ladies first," Vanna began. She reached her hand into the bowl and plucked a single strip of paper from the pile. Vita closed her eyes and struggled to breathe while the silence stretched on. Vanna had a habit of making everyone wait in "anticipation" before she called out the tribute's name.

"Clove Mortem." Vanna's voice rings out across the square. Vita glances back at her mother in time to see the sadness clouding her features. Once Clove made it up to the stage Vanna called out, "Any volunteers?" Vita squared her shoulders and stepped forward quickly.

"I volunteer as tribute." She watched as her father froze and looked at her. She pleaded with her eyes for him not to say anything. The hurt that was evident on her face almost made Vita break down then and there.

While this happened two other people volunteered. Their names were put into a small box to be drawn again. As Vita stood there she prayed to whatever deity wanted to listen that she got reaped. She didn't think she could bear going to home and seeing her mother's looks of shame.

"Vita Bellona," Vanna called out. "My, my, daughter of the Mayor. This is truly going to be one unforgettable Games. Now for the boys!"

Vita looked out at the crowd and saw her mother standing there grinning like the holidays had come early. It made Vita nauseous.

But Vita was ripped brutally from her thoughts when the one name was spoken that had the power to completely rip her apart. The one name that made the decision to volunteer unbearable. "Cato Ferum." Those two words ring in the back of Vita's mind, causing a numbness to wash over her. When her brain was able to process the image of Cato walking up the steps to the stage, Vita had to grab hold of the podium to keep from collapsing.

Cato looked at her with a grim sort of smile, but didn't actually acknowledge that they knew each other. That was better in a way, seeing as all Vita wanted to do in that moment was throw herself at him and let him hold her while she cried. But she saw the determination in his eyes and she knew that she could not let herself go just yet. She knew he would be there when she did but right now they both needed to put on a brave face and let Panem know that neither of them are going down without a fight.

The next hour and half was going to be hell. Pure and utter hell. Vita never realized till know how hard it was to keep your emotions in check when your world had been flipped upside down. No. Her world hadn't been flipped upside down. It had be turned inside-out, upside down and then spun around and couple times for good measure. This wasn't her life anymore.

But for her sake and everyone else's involved, she had to pretend like she was strong. She had to pretend like she was brave. So as the Peacekeepers brought her into the beautiful Justice Building she allowed one tear to slip out before shutting herself down completely.

Vita was brought into the plush room where tributes said their goodbyes to their family and friends. She tried rolling her neck and shoulders to relieve some of the tension that had suddenly grown there but to no avail. So she sat there and waited for the first person to come in.

Vita didn't have to wait long. The first person through that door was her mother. She didn't come in with her father because he had to finish the reaping speeches, but he would be in here before she left.

"Oh Vita," her mother crooned, tears of joy filling her eyes, "I'm so happy you are finally going to fulfill your destiny." For the first time in almost ten years, Vita's mother embraced her with a hug. At first Vita was too shocked to move or do anything back. By the time that Vita realized what was going on, her mother was letting go, but Vita pulled her close for probably the last time and hugged her before she lost the chance to ever do it again.

Vita's mother straightened her skirt and addressed Vita once more. "I'm so proud of what you have done today Vita. Make District 2 proud to have you as our tribute." And with that, she walked out of Vita's life.

Next in was Vita's older brother, who worked in the Control Center*. He would come around and spend time with Vita every once in a while but she always missed him terribly when he was gone. They had always been close and so she knew he would want to spend as much time as possible with her. He sat down beside her on the couch and held out his arms for her. Vita buried her face into his shoulder, but refused to let herself break down just yet. So she sat there and inhaled his earthy scent that he carried with him from the being in that mountain all day every day. He sat there and stroked her hair, resting his cheek on the top of her head. Not a word was said until the Peacekeepers came to escort him out.

"Come home, Vita. Please come home." The depth of despair in his eyes forced her to choke down a sob. All she did was nod and sit back down. She couldn't take much more of this.

Finally, in walked her father. Vita could see the trails the tears have left down his face. He sits down and pulls her onto his lap like he used to do when she was five.

"Why Vita? Why would you volunteer?" The look of confusion on his face told her that her mother had never actually discussed her obsession with getting Vita into the Hunger Games with him. "Was your life not good enough here? Are you unhappy?" Mayor Bellona seemed to be holding back tears himself. "I just don't understand."  
"Mother wanted me to. She felt it was a disgrace for me to not be in the Hunger Games. So she forced me." Vita said this all with a straight face and monotone voice.  
Mayor Bellona bowed his head and tried to stop a sob from escaping. "I see." The peacekeepers appeared at the door to take him away. Her hour was up. "No matter what happens my dear, I love you. I will be rooting for you." He wrapped her in a hug and she inhaled his clean, soapy scent for what would probably be the last time.  
"I love you too Daddy." And with that, Vita's father was escorted from the room and Vita was left alone. So very alone.

Within minutes Vita was escorted out of the large and comfortable room in the Justice Building and into the train station. There she saw Cato, Vanna and two victors she couldn't identify at the moment because of the sea of flashing lights that separated them.

While Vita had seen many Capitol trains go in and out of the District and was relatively unaffected by the large gleaming hunk of metal before her. What threw Vita off guard was the crowed that had gathered at the station. She had assumed there would be a crowd of reporters waiting there but never this many. This was why she had tried so hard to hold her tears back, so that these people would not show her as a weak tribute to the entire nation.  
So Vita lifted her head and put on the most charming, winning smile she could must at the moment and waved to the reporters. They went wild. Cato gave her a confused look but she just raised her eyebrows at him and kept smiling, hoping he would catch on. Might as well make a good impression when you have the chance. He shook his head and ducked into the train. Vita waved at the reporters and waited until Vanna had to come and usher her away to enter the train.  
Once inside, Vita took a big sigh of relief and looked around.

**Hope you guys enjoyed it! Don't forget to review, story alert, author alert, or whatever you want to do! I love to hear from you guys! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The gadgets and gizmos that fill the train are astounding. Vita had never seen so much gleaming, shining metal before. The glare off the sunlight streaming in almost blinded her.

For a few moments, Vita was fully distracted by the sights and sounds inside the train. She felt slight pressure on her lower back, urging her to move forward into the train. She stepped farther into the train and felt blissful air conditioning was over her, cooling her stressed, overheated body.

As the initial wonder wore off, the stress and sadness of the day came flooding back, and she could finally let herself go. It felt like a dam was breaking behind her eyes and was getting ready to give way.

Vanna could see that Vita was close to breaking. She knew that Vita was a strong young woman, but she could only take so much. Vanna draped her arm across Vita's shoulders and gently steered her towards the back of the train.

Vita panicked for a moment, having no idea where Vanna was leading her. Once she realized Vanna was taking her to her own private quarters, Vita went along gratefully.

Vanna smiled at her and for the first time, Vita got a glimpse of the real Vanna that was hidden under all of that Capitol make up. It was a reassuring sight, and made her start to trust Vanna just a little bit.

After whispering thanks to Vanna, Vita rushed into her room. She closed the door with a strangled sob and flung herself down onto the bed in the middle of the room and cried. She gathered the many plush blankets around her and blocked out the world. Nothing mattered at this point in time. All that was left was her and the crushing sadness inside her heart.

Periodically, thoughts of her family would flicker through her mind. There were times when Vita almost thought all her energy was spent and she was done with crying, but she would picture the garden behind her beautiful house, feel her father's arms wrap her in a hug or catch a ghost of her brother's scent. She even thought she could hear her mother's voice telling her to stop moping around and get off of the bed. But none of it was real. _'And none of it will ever be real again,'_ Vita sobbed in her head.

Finally, after who knows how much time had passed, Vita fell asleep, having worn herself out from all the crying.

_Vita blinks her eyes open in response to the blinding white light that had shone through her eyelids, Her eyes adjusted to the light and she could faintly make out shapes moving across the room, silhouetted in the contrasting darkness of the room. She could sense rather than see the things moving around behind her._

_ Suddenly, a gag was roughly forced into her mouth and her eyes were covered by a black blindfold. Cold metal cuffs strapped her wrists down to the table she realized she was sitting on. Hands pushed down forcefully onto her shoulders, causing her to slam down into the table. She heard the sickening crack of her skill against the metal of the table and then the telltale warm wetness of blood on the back of her head._

_Vita heard voices off behind her and strained her ears to hear the whispers. She tried, but she just could not make out the faint threads of sounds that inexplicably sent chills down her spine and left her with a heavy sense of foreboding. Whatever those voices were conversing about, it would not lead to anything good._

_Somehow, she knew that they were talking about her. She would catch single words such as "preparation" or even "arena." It sounded as though she was going through some sort of preliminary set of tests before the Games were to being. She guessed that it was never aired. It seemed odd, seeing as she had thought everything besides training was shown to the public, but she quickly dismissed that as part of the Capitol's mystique. _

_ Vita could tell that this was obviously no simple question and answer session though. If the choking gag, blindfold and metallic bite of the cuffs hadn't given anything away, the sinister whir of machines that had started up on all sides of her gave her confirmation that something very bad was going to happen._

_Vita felt hands grab her arms and legs and she was quickly gripped with panic. It settled vice-like in her chest and constricted her breathing. She tried in vain to struggle against the iron grip those unseen hands had on her. She felt herself hyperventilating, but she was powerless to slow the excess flow oxygen that was flooding her brain. She could feel her consciousness slipping away as the panic attack caused her to slowly pass out._

_Vita gasped as she was forced still and then prodded by an incredibly sharp, slim object. The needled that pierced her arm sent fire radiating through her veins. She was brought back to the time when she tried to touch a light bulb that had been on for a while. That sudden burning sensation was nothing compared to the agony that engulfed Vita now. What that needle had done to her made her feel as though her insides were melting as she laid there. She couldn't even release the scream that was building in her throat around the gag that was furiously choking her. She could feel the tears that had formed in her eyes but they couldn't escape the blindfold that bound her eyes closed. The violent, panicked movements of her head caused the blindfold to shift enough for her eyes to squint open and tears streamed down her face, released from their prison. The salty taste slipped into her mouth around the gag and she was powerless to do anything but lie there and feel her body slowly being destroyed._

_All at once the fiery pain was replaced by a bone chilling coldness that swept across her body and froze her to the core. Even if Vita wasn't strapped down to the table she wouldn't have been able to move as she was paralyzed with the cold. The ice burned through her veins, a pain different and yet similar to the fire. She was too cold to even shiver, never mind thrash about or scream. She felt tears try to make their way down her face but they froze the moment they reached her cheeks. She just lay there, hoping, waiting, begging for the pain to cease. She wanted so badly to slip into unconsciousness but the intensifying cold would not allow her to let go of her body. _

_Vita heard a footstep fall somewhere off to her left. She started crying in earnest, wondering what new horror the person was bringing her. She couldn't do anything to stop this torture. Her heart almost stopped when she felt the sharp point of a needle against her skin. What new pain waited for her now?_

_The needle felt white-hot against her frozen skin, but as the solution entered her veins, Vita felt the pain ease. She sucked in a gasping breath, finally regaining control of her body. Her tears stopped and her entire body tingled as feeling returned. As she calmed down from the pain, emotion welled up inside her and the sobs returned. This ordeal had left her broken and whimpering like a child._

_Suddenly the blindfold was roughly yanked off her face, tearing large chunks of her hair out along with it. The gag was also cut, freeing her mouth. Her mother's face loomed demonically over her._

"_You're ready," she whispered, sounding insanely calm. And with that, Vita's mother took a knife lying on the metal table behind her and plunged it down into Vita's stomach. With the gag gone, Vita was able to scream. She screamed and screamed but no one came to help her. She screamed until blackness overcame her vision. She felt as though she was suddenly falling through space while being roughly puller and shaken by an unseen force. She hit the ground and gasped in air as her body was pulled up into a sitting position._

Vita woke from her nightmare sobbing and gasping as she choked in a breath. She kept her eyes shut tight together to block out the reality that was just as terrifying as the dream.

Vita noticed the arms that had wrapped her in an embrace, the hand stroking her hair, the voice whispering that everything was going to be alright. She raised her head and looked into the eyes of Cato. As he stared back at her, Vita could read the concern on his face for her and see how scared he was.

Vita felt a sudden powerful wave of shame as she hugged her best friend closer to her. Here she was sobbing on Cato's shoulder and yet he has been through the exact same thing as she has. It felt all wrong.

But Cato was a part of her home. He tied her to her district and reminded Vita of what she had left behind. He provided her with a rock that could keep her from going completely insane, at least for a little while.  
Cato slowly stroked Vita's hair as she sobbed. He had heard her screams from the dining room down the hall and immediately came to see what was wrong. No matter what had and will happen, she is his best friend and he needed to protect her. Luckily, the door was unlocked so all he had to do was wrench open the door and comfort her in any way he could.

Vita had no idea what time it was and she didn't care at this point. She had probably slept through dinner judging by the sky outside. She was torn between not wanting to go back to sleep and enter another nightmare and not wanting to get up and face her reality. So instead of doing either she pulled Cato down onto the bed beside her and buried her face in his chest. Despite the inevitable intimacy of the situation, nothing about this felt sexual in any way. It felt comfortable being like this. He was the only thing keeping her from slipping into a nightmare.

Cato shifted slightly to wrap Vita in his arms. He knew he couldn't leave her here alone to suffer more tonight and quite frankly, he didn't want to be alone either. It was a situation that suited them both.

For the rest of the night they laid there together, keeping each other company and keeping the nightmares away for as long as they can.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Vita carefully extracts herself out of Cato's arms, trying her hardest not to wake him up. She can't believe that he actually stayed there with her the entire night. He isn't a very compassionate person, at least towards most people. But then again, most people don't know him like she does.

Vita walks quietly to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She was almost glad she slept through the day yesterday. Now she can meet her escort and mentor properly, on her own terms. She takes off her dress and carefully pulled her hair out of the tangled mass that was her bun.

She didn't quite know how to work the showers on the train. Sure, she had a high tech shower from the Capitol back at home, but it didn't have nearly as many buttons to push as this one did. She closed her eyes and pushed a few at random. Instantly she was covered in sweet smelling bubbles while the water became freezing cold. She yelped and jumped to the other side of the shower. It took a few tries but finally Vita got the water to the right temperature and with a little experimentation, she was thoroughly clean.

Vita stepped out of the shower and pushed a familiar looking button on the wall. Just as she had expected, a current of warm air flowed over her, instantly drying her skin and hair. That had always been one of her favorite things about the bathroom back home. Sometimes, when it got cold outside, Vita would stand under the current and just let the warm air return feeling back into her freezing toes and fingers.

Smiling at the memory, Vita called an Avox to bring her new clothes from her room. She didn't want to walk in naked with Cato still being there and all. Hopefully the Avox won't wake him up though. He was so kind to her last night that she wanted to let him sleep.

Vita wondered what he dreamed about.

The Avox brought Vita's clothes in to the bathroom. She smiled at the servant as he walked out, being careful to keep his eyes trained on the ground. Vita didn't even blush. She didn't feel that bodies are something to be ashamed of and situations are only intimate if you want them to be.

Vita slipped into the comfortable black tight pants and the red fitted t-shirt the Avox brought in. She left her dark hair hanging down her back and smiled slightly. She really was beautiful. She hoped her sharp features would help her get attention from sponsors quickly.

Vita opened the door slowly, trying not to wake Cato, but finding that he was already sitting up in the bed, awake. The Avox probably woke him up

_ 'Better the Avox than me,'_ Vita thought. Despite her lack of self-consciousness about her body, Vita felt a blush color her cheeks at the thought of her venturing out of the bathroom to get her clothes and waking him up.

Cato smiled at her as she walked in from the bathroom. He loved when she left her hair down. It made her face seem softer, more feminine. He often thought she had grown up to be a bit too cold to others, because of her mother pushing her so hard in preparation for the Games. She offered him a smile back and then blushed. "What's she have to be embarrassed about," he wondered in his thoughts. He hoped she wasn't upset about him spending the night. He just wanted to make sure she was okay. There weren't many people he cared about and Vita was one of them.

"Did you sleep alright?" Vita hoped she hadn't kept him awake during the night. She had woken up twice more from nightmares, although none of them were as intense as the first one.

"I'm fine. I was more worried about you honestly. Do you want to talk about anything?" Vita had always needed a bit of coaxing for her to offer up anything personal. That's one of the things Cato had always liked about her. She was as guarded as he was but they could relax when they were around each other.

Vita walked to the bed and sat down next to him. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.

"Not really. I'm okay now, I promise." She smiled and laid her head on his chest. He stroked her hair and she shut her eyes against the painful memory. "At least, I'm as okay as I can be right now."

"I know, V. We should be arriving at the Capitol pretty soon now though. We should go get something for breakfast."

"I suppose you're right." Vita reluctantly stands up and watches Cato as he stretches, the way his body moved seeming to be leonine as he gets up from the bed. To outsiders, they probably looked like they were together as a couple, but they were just comfortable around each other. They were best friends.

They walk out next to each other, receiving a suspicious glance from Vanna, who was dressed in a blue themed outfit for the day. Vita ignored her and even had to suppress a laugh as she walked to the dining table to take a seat.

An Avox brought over a plate of food that smelled delicious. There were eggs over easy in a hollandaise sauce, along with crab cakes, potatoes and fruit. It was better than the food at home, but every once in a while, Vita's family could afford an expensive meal like this. It's not as though her family was poor, quite the contrary. They lived very nicely. But no one in the Districts quite had what was found in the Capitol.

Vita savored the creamy taste the sauce gave the eggs, the saltiness of the potatoes and crab cakes and the sweetness of the fruit. She assumed that this meal came from District 4 because of the seafood. She took a drink of orange juice from the glass in front of her and looked around as the cool, tangy liquid slid down her throat.

She looked over at Cato and sighed. He looked slightly uncomfortable here. His family wasn't nearly as well off as hers had been, even if he was from one of the wealthier districts like 2. His father ran the blacksmith shop in town and Cato was his apprentice. They made enough money to get all the necessities and food and such, but there never seemed to be much money left over after everything was bought.

He wasn't completely untrained though, Vita thought with a smile. They had practically lived together as children, jumping back and forth between their respective houses, spending all of their time together. There was never such a thing as a casual meal at her house, so Cato had picked up on a few tips on proper table manners. It was a good thing too. She didn't think that ill-mannered children would go over very well here, especially in the Capitol where everything is perfect, or so Vita had grown up being told.

Gatherings were much more entertaining at Cato's house though. Meals were fun and loud, where everyone had something to talk about and laugh about. There was actual noise instead of the awkwardly polite silence that always accompanied meals at her own house. Cato's mother always had a nice word to say and his father would be genuinely interested in what the children had to input on the conversation. Cato had been happy, in all senses of the word.

That was before his mother died though. Cato had been only eleven when she had passed away from a stroke. No one in the family had seen it coming, which often hurts more than if someone had been sick for a while. Cato had been so close to her that the blow hit him terribly hard. Vita was the only one that Cato would talk to for almost six months after her death. Vita supposed that Cato would have talked to his father, if the man had ever bothered to be home for Cato to talk to. Cato's father had thrown himself into his work and wouldn't come home from the shop until late at night. Cato had felt so neglected, but Vita had always been there for him. Through that time they really became best friends.

After, he had gotten over the grieving period, Cato's father became distant. He wasn't nearly as loving as he had been before, often screaming at Cato over the simplest of mistakes in the shop. This caused Cato to become extremely self conscious and insecure, and became much more reserved around other people. But Vita could always get him to open up to her.

Vita hadn't realized that she had been sitting at the table reminiscing for a good couple of minutes, just staring off into space.

"Are you alright?" Cato asked for the second time today. He was always concerned about Vita. She was practically his sister and he wanted to make sure everything was going just fine with her before even thinking of himself.

"Me? Of course I'm alright." And in that moment, Vita was alright. Though overall, she was nowhere near alright. But she had her turn to break down already and Cato had been there to help her keep her safe. Now it was her turn to be there for him.

Vita was just finishing her food, being sure to eat everything. Both she and Cato needed to keep their strength up for the Games. Who knew how much food would be available to them once they entered the Arena, and it wouldn't hurt to put on some extra pounds in the next few days.

Vita went back to thinking about the past while Cato finished his food. She avoided thinking about painful subjects, like her family and personal life. So instead she thought about the memories she had made with Cato.

When she was ten, Vita had fallen out of a tree and broken her arm. Cato refused to leave her side, even after he had gotten her home safely. He didn't go home until the doctor had promised him that she would be fine and that the injury was not that great.

When Vita and Cato were in primary school, they would skip going home straight after school. Instead they would go into the fields behind the school building and sit together and get all of their work done and just hang about until it started to get dark and they needed to get back to the safety of their well lit homes.

It seemed like at every point in her life, Vita could connected Cato to some important event or memory. He was always there, a constant figure and she was the same way to him.

Once Cato was finished with his meal, Vita grabbed his hand and led him from the room, promising Vanna that they wouldn't go gar. Vanna was yelling that they would be arriving at the Capitol station within the next ten minutes. Vita felt a thrill of fear and anticipation at the words. When Cato had said them, it was just a speculation. When Vanna said them, it was an actual time frame. Vita wasn't quite sure she was ready for that. Seeing the Capitol would make everything official and real in a way. Like before, she could have pictured that this train wasn't actually taking them to the Capitol, but on a roundabout trip through the Districts and then straight back home. But one they got to the Capitol, there would be no way to deny the fact that she was there. And she would not be going home any time soon.

Vita shook her head to clear it of the negative and anxiety-inducing thoughts. _'Be strong for Cato,'_ she repeated over and over in her head as they walked.

_ 'Be strong for Cato.'_


End file.
